Aspiring local accountants and auditors no longer have to be accredited by foreign accounting bodies.The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (ICPAR), announced the launch of its own professional courses.They are the Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (CPA-R) and the Certified Accounting Technicians of Rwanda (CAT-R). Both will be benchmarked against international standards. Previously, aspiring local accountants had to sit for accounting examinations administered by accounting bodies from Kenya and Uganda. Completion of the ICPAR courses is now a requirement for registration as a member of the professional body.After the attainment of ICPAR membership, a member will be sanctioned to use the CPA-R designation. The courses, whose first examination sittings would take place in December, are a major step towards tackling the shortage of professional accountants and auditors in the country, according to the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, who was the guest of honour at the launch last week."The new accounting qualifications are going to address many challenges,” the minister stated. The number of qualified accountants is expected to increase and also enhance proper financial reporting standards among Small and Medium Enterprises.According to ICPAR, there are currently 214 registered professional accountants in the country, of whom only 55 are Rwandan.The president of ICPAR, Peter Rutaremara, urged practicing accountants to upgrade their skills by sitting for the new qualifications programmes. "The country is in great need of qualified accounting professionals. These new programmes will help respond to the needs of both the public and private sectors,” Rutaremara observed."The syllabi have been developed in close consultation with all actors and, therefore, represent a set of qualifications based on international best practices but adapted to Rwanda’s accounting and auditing environment”.ICPAR tuition fees structure indicates that a student who opts to enrol for either course in the country instead of Kenya or Uganda would save approximately 11 percent on all expenses.